Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-15
THE FIFTIETH CONGRESS.
Fac About the New Men Who VIII Take
Part in Lawmaking
New York Sun.

gress the usual request of such biogra-
phicsl information about themselves as
they might wan. to see in the Congress
sonal directory. But few responses
were forthcoming, and Msi0r Michael,
who succeeded the veteran correspon-
dent as editor of the directory, was
obliged TO send out second request for
material. He has received sketches from
ell but about dozen members, the aver
age number that never send in their BIZ
og-aphies, but wait for the editor to hunt
| them up after the session opens. The
chief interest in the directory this year is
in the glimpse it gives Of the New York
ers who will step out into the fierce light
that beats upon the congressional arena
There sre al members and Senator'S
! or these forty-nine are lswyers,s thirty
eight have served in the Legislatures OF
their states, and thirtY-two are college
! graduates-a high average Of ability, and
one that bespesks from the old members
of Congress very polite consideration.
! The average Of the new members is
about forty-fve. James Phelan of Mem
phis will be the youngest man OF the
Flftfeth Congress. He was bonn Deem
Der ), 1856, and will lack two days OF be-
! ing thirty-oue years old the day he takes
| his seat. His father was g Senator in the
! Confederate Congress from Mississippi,
and Phelan enters public life with only a
boys very faint recollections of the war
period. The oldest member is General
| Vandever Of California. He was born
| March 81, 1917, and will be well on his
seventv-frst year when he takes his seat
Judge Miles Toby Granger of Connec-
ticut will also be seventy years old when
! he taxes his seat but is i've mOrths
younger than General Vandeyer. Judge
Granger and Governor Davis of Mime
sota are the only Ii. DIS.
! Among the new men of Congress
probably the most completely educated
member is the youngest, Mr.. Phelan.
After graduating from the Kentucky
| Military Institute he went to the
University of LeipsiC, Germany. There,
he says, after MiChselmas, 1875, he re-
ceived private instructions in Latin from
| Richard Sachuse, head teacher in the
university. After delivering q disserta
ton on Phillip Massirger and his plays
Mr.. Phe!an received the degree of doctor
| OF philosophy, and returned to Memphis,
where de began to practice law in 1891.
Young Phelan beat Zachary Taylor in the
race for Congress.
Perhaps the member with the least
schooling is Congressman Finley OF Ken
lucky, who says in his sketch that he be
gan lite without education sufficient TO
transact business, and penniless. Still
he seems to have done pretty we'll in life,
| being good lawyer, and have served
several terms in the Legislature and sat
on the bench several years.
There are nine ex- Confederates among
the new members and thirteen Union SOL
diers. The Confederates are not brig4-
diers by any means, the highest rank at
tanned by any of them belonging
to Senator Daniel OF Virginia, who
was sdjutant- general of Jubal Early's
Division. Most of the Exon
federate members were lieutenants or
captains. The highest rank attained by
any of the Union soldiers was General
Vandever. Going into the war as q
colonel, he was made brigadier in 1862
and q major general in 1865.
Possibly the mildest war record was
Senator Ch.ndler's. He WAS Judge ad
vocate of the navy during the war. Con-
gresham Boothman OF OHIO lost his left
leg in the service. lie seems to be the
only MANNED man among the new men,
bers, with the exception of Congressman
John Lind OF Minnesota, who lost his
right arm in threshing machine.
An interesting fact appears IN the natiV-
ity of the new members. Most of them
were born in the states they represent.
Conger, Mcdonald of Minnesota, Kerr Of
Iowa, and White were born in Scotland.
Congressman Hangen of Wisconsin was
born in Norway. Congressman Lind of
Minnesota was born in Sweden. Mr.. Lagen
of Louisiana, and Judge Wilson of Min
nesots, were BON in Ireland. Fitty-four
new members we're born in the states they
come from. Very few carpet-bsggers ap-
pear in the list. Perhaps George Van
dever OF California, is best entitled to the
name. He went to California from Iowa
in 1884, and was elected to Congress be-
fore he had been there two years. He
served in Congress Two terms from Iowa
before the war.
Marion Biggs, another California men,
Der, is also carpet-bagger, but OF the
sort that make Bret Harte's stories so
delightful He says he is regular Pike
from Missouri, who went to tle Golden
Gate in the days of the argonauts. Con-
gresham Thompson Of Californis is an
interesting carpet bsgger. He was born
il Virgins, and is the son Of Judge R..
Augustine 1QOmpSOnj VINO was III JIe
Thlrtieth Congress, and the grandson of
Philip Z. Thompson, who was in the Viz
GINA delegation 10 the Sixth, Seventh,
Eighth and Ninth Congresses. Thompson
went to California long before the war,
and since 1860 has owned and edited the
Sonoma Democrst. He was for several
years Secretary OF State. Half dozen
or more new members still live in the
towns in which they were born. Among
these are Senator Chandler, of Concord,
n. H; Senator Daniel, of LynChburg,
Va; Mr.. Elliott, OF Beaufort, S. c., Bob
Smalls opponent; General Lucas, of
Charleston, w. Va. James Schoolcraft
Sherman, of Utica.
The following are college men;
Lloyd Bryce of New York, Oxford,
England Bowen of Virginia, Emory Col
lege CoggswelI of Massachusetts, Dart
mouth Cobb of Alabama, Emory College
Carlton Of Georgia, University OF Geor-
gia; Dubois OF Idaho, Yale; Dalzell OF
Pennsylvania, Yale; Elliott of North
Carolins, Harvard and University OF
Virginia; Parmelee Fitch of New York,
Universities of Jena and Berlin; Ford OF
Michigan, Annapolis Naval Academy;
Granger of Connecticut, Wesleyan Uni
versity; Hall OF Pennsylvania, Dickinson
College; Kerr of lows, McKendree Col
lege; Lind of Minnesota, University OF